The Excavations of San Giovanni di Ruoti: Volume III: The Faunal and Plant Remains (Phoenix Supplementary Volume)

This third volume of The Excavations of San Giovanni di Ruoti series deals with the social, economic, and environmental information derived from the analysis of zooarchaeological and palaeobotanical remains found at the fourth-century A.D. Italian villa of San Giovanni di Ruoti. The four contributors use the large collection of organic evidence obtained from the site, including mammal and bird bones, shells, land snails, and plant remains, to provide information on diet, food preparation, economics, trade routes, taxation, local environment and climate, agricultural economy, and animal husbandry. With both technical analysis and an interpretive component, the contributors offer various reconstructions of Roman life, often in combination with quotations from ancient literary sources, allowing this work to appeal to both the specialist and layperson alike. Written with a thoroughness and attention to detail not often seen in zooarchaeological work, this analysis represents an important advance in the study of faunal and botanical data in Roman archaeology in Italy, and will be an invaluable resource for all environmental and classical archaeologists. Booknews Archaeologists continue to detail the results of their excavation of the Roman villa near the western watershed of the Lucanian Apennines. Here they describe animal bones, terrestrial molluscs, bird bones, marine and freshwater shells, plant remains, and the remains of a fetus found in one of the middens. The first two volumes deal with the site and setting, and with small finds such as lamps and coins; the fourth and final will consider pottery and glass. Many charts and graphs, and a few drawings and monochrome photographs support the text. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com) MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict CONTENTS 6 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 11 LIST OF TABLES 12 LIST OF FIGURES 15 PREFACE 18 ABBREVIATIONS 30 1. The Animal Bones 36 A. Introduction 36 B. Methods 38 1. General recovery 38 2. Recovery in middens 39 3. Identifications 41 4. Quantification 42 5. Aging and sexing 44 6. Measurements 46 7. Taphonomic measures 47 8. Butchery and meat weights 47 9. Pathologies 49 C. Results 50 1. General recovery and quantification 50 2. Recovery and quantification in middens 51 3. Taphonomy 55 4. Cautionary notes 61 5. Frequency of species 61 6. Principal domesticated animals 64 7. Other domesticated animals 103 8. Wild mammals 105 9. Other animals, except birds 108 10. Butchery and meat cuts 109 11. Diet 116 12. Spatial patterning of bones 119 D. Discussion and Interpretations of the Faunal Sample 127 1. UNID component 127 2. ID component 128 3. Butchery 149 4. Preservation of meat 151 5. Cooking and consumption 153 E. Conclusions 154 Appendix 1 Measurements of mammalian bones and teeth, arranged by taxon, part of skeleton, and period / phase 157 Appendix 2 M3 measurements from domestic and wild pigs from various archaeological sites 198 Appendix 3 Scientific nomenclature of mammalian taxa listed in this report 199 Appendix 4 A human foetus from a midden of Period 3B 200 2. The Avian Remains 204 A. Domesticated bird species 204 1. Gallus gallus, domestic fowl 204 2. Anser anser, domesticated goose of greylag type 211 B. Wild bird species 212 1. Notes on the avian aspects of the ecological background 212 2. Site study 213 3. Species notes 216 C. Summary 220 3. Marine and Freshwater Shells 222 4. Land Snails 228 A. Introduction 228 B. Methods 228 1. General recovery 228 2. Identifications and quantification 230 3. Environmental reconstruction 230 C. Results and discussion 230 1. General environmental reconstruction 230 2. Rooms 232 3. Food species 232 D. Conclusions 233 5. Plant Remains 234 A. Wood charcoal 234 1. Methods 234 2. Results 235 3. Patterns in wood charcoal deposition 236 B. Charred seeds 239 1. Methods of analysis 239 2. Results and comments 239 BIBLIOGRAPHY 250 ILLUSTRATIONS 260 INDEXES 284 Index of Rooms 284 Index of Features 285 Index of Literary Sources and Inscriptions 285 General Index 286 v. 1. The villas and their environment / Alastair M. Small and Robert J. Buck ; with contributions from B.G. Ackroyd ... [et al.] ; site drawings by E.R. Haldenby ; artifact drawings by R. Aicher v. 2. The small finds / C.J. Simpson ; with contributions from R. Reece (coins), J.J. Lassiter (lamps), and appendices by O. Colacicchi Alessandri (gold amulet no. 369), V. Volterra (millstones) ; artifact drawings by R. Aicher and C. Mundigler v. 3. The faunal and plant remains / M.R. MacKinnon ; with contributions from A. Eastham ... [et al.]